


Where the sky meets the earth

by owlishann



Series: We call everything in the air love [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Human Victor, M/M, Winged Yuuri, alternative universe, but find comfort in each other, they're both sad at first, with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-12 14:31:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15997163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlishann/pseuds/owlishann
Summary: In a village where humans have left a permanent and burning scar, a winged young man afraid of flying and a wandering inventor meet. The rest? It won’t go that smoothly.“Is this fine?” Yuuri finally asks, knowing that everything is becoming too real.“It is as long as you’re fine with it.”And Yuuri takes Victor’s hand again and places it on top of his chest, over his beating heart.“It says it’s fine.”





	1. Winds of change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tothebatcave53](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothebatcave53/gifts).



> Hello!! So this is it!! I really liked your wings prompt and this is what came out of it! It turned out a little bit longer than I expected, I hope you don't mind ;-; 
> 
> This first chapter is a little bit introspective and slow-paced but a lot of things™ happen. Yuuri is not at the best mental place at the beginning, so please, bear that also in mind if you're reading cause he's suffering a bit :( There's a WARNING at the end of the chapter in case someone wants to check before reading.
> 
> Big thanks to Ly cause she helped me a lot with this even though she hasn't even watched yuri!!! on ice. I'm an unsure human being and she kept reminding me that this fic made sense. It hasn't been betaed, though, so it probably has some mistakes (sorry about that).
> 
> The fic will be completely up before next saturday, I believe I'll update on tuesday and thursday, but both days before saturday for sure!

He’s falling.

That’s the first thing he notices. That he’s helplessly falling and there is nothing he can do about it. His wings are helpless and don’t react, still paralyzed by a well-known fear.

The ground grows closer and closer, and the reminiscences of a past nightmare fill his memories until all he can think about is his own death.

The grass is greener than ever and the dying flowers seem to make the perfect bed for an early ending. He closes his eyes and awaits his destiny.

 

Yuuri abruptly sits up in his own bed, completely sweaty and with his breath ragged. He’s shaking from head to toes and doesn’t know how to make it stop. He hugs himself.

“It’s been a bad dream. Just a bad dream,” he repeats once and again as a mantra.

But the overwhelming feelings doesn’t fade and his heart is galloping in his chest and he’s choking, and… and…

And Hiroko is singing somewhere in the onsen. Toshiya is laughing and Mari is pretending she is bothered by their morning routine. The earthly sounds he is so used to start filling his ears and soothing his heart. He takes a deep breath. He’s fine. He’s not falling again, not this time.

Yuuri carefully breathes as he gets out of bed. In. Out. In. Out. As he learned. He avoids looking at his wings, but they’re still there anyway. His black feathers match the colour of his hair and, at the same time, contrast his skin. Black is the colour of the Katsuki family in Hasetsu.

“Yuuri,” coos Hiroko as soon as Yuuri enters the room. But she sees the dark circles under his eyes, his disturbed mien. “Darling, what’s wrong?”

“I…” he begins. “It’s…”

“That dream again,” she says, and Yuuri simply nods. “Oh, my poor boy.” She holds him in her arms and surrounds him with her fluffy wings. “It’s fine now, it’s over.”

“I know, mama.” Hiroko’s tight hug calms his anxiety, but now there are tears threatening to spill. “It’s just… I…” He doesn’t know how to word his worries. “I still…”

He looks up so tears won’t leave his eyes, but it’s useless. He corresponds Hiroko’s hug, thanks her in a heartfelt whisper and leaves.

“I’m gonna meet Phichit,” he says as steady as his sobs let him. The last thing he hears before he leaves the onsen is her sister’s whisper: “He still can’t fly.”

That’s it. In a village inhabited by winged people, he’s the only one that can’t fly.

 

He doesn’t meet Phichit. He wasn’t going to. He goes instead to the only place he can find any peace at these days.

Hasetsu is a small village nestled between hills. It’s easy to leave, but not that easy to find it. The perfect location for something you don’t want to be discovered. Yuuri, though, loves to expose himself to the vastness of the valley they live in. He needs to leave the village and forget for a while, so he follows the old and narrow passage that leads to the outskirts of Hasetsu and begins to wander.

He healed from the accident, physically healed at least, more than a month ago. His heart, his mind, those are still afraid and hurt. He hasn’t been able to tell anybody, though. Not his parents, not Mari, not Phichit. They think his wings still hurt and that’s the reason he can’t fly yet. They don’t know it’s the fear that runs up his spine what is stopping him from flying.

He has tried. A lot. He’s been hiding the bruises and the scratchings from falling once and again, not being able to stand the beating of his wings nor the wind ruffling his feathers. He ends up shaking and hating himself even more.

But he keeps practicing because if he doesn’t fly soon he’ll disappoint everyone in his family. Everybody will look at him with pity because, not being able to fly? That’s the worst condemn one could be sentenced to. And he won’t be able to live amongst people he has let down.

So he keeps trying and pushing himself harder. “For them. I’ll do it for them,” he whispers to himself. But nothing comes out of his attempts but a sore body and a broken soul. So he cries. That’s the only thing that easies his pain and gives him some rest. It’s sour, though, the taste tears leave in his heart, because he knows the following day he’ll need them as much as he did the previous one.

And Hiroko keeps telling him he’s going to heal soon. Toshiya keeps massaging his wings. Mari keeps proposing him physical therapy to help him out with his sore muscles. And he doesn’t need any of that anymore because that’s precisely what’s breaking him from the inside.

Suddenly, Yuuri realises he doesn’t know where he is. He’s been wandering unconsciously and he is further from the village than usual. He is going to turn around when he hears them.

Barks.

Yuuri thinks he’s having hearing hallucinations at first, since dogs aren’t a common sight in that part of the valley, but five minutes has passed by and he is still able to hear them, even louder now. Puzzled, he follows the sound.

It’s been years since the last time he saw a dog, but he can certainly tell that the brown barking fur in front of him is one. As soon as the dog sees him, though, she starts barking furiously, almost threateningly, so Yuuri raises his hand in defeat and stands still.

He doesn’t even know if dogs understand what that means in body language. It seems to work, though, because the dog approaches him and sniffs Yuuri from head to toes. The dog must approve his smell, for she turns around and starts walking.

When she realises Yuuri is not following, the dog turns around again and sits down, just to bark twice.

“Do you want me to follow you?” he asks, and the dog barks again. Fine, that’s compelling enough for Yuuri, who didn’t remember how cute dogs were. He approaches the dog, who restart the walk towards one of the closest hills.

It’s no surprise when, after turning the slope of the hill they were heading to, he finds something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

It’s a huge mess.

There’s a pink and golden fabric splayed all around the grass. It’s massive and endless and Yuuri can’t stop looking at it in wonder. It’s broken, though, it has some scratches and holes and part of it is completely teared up, hooked on a nearby tree. And next to the tree there’s also a huge basket, big enough to fit three or four persons inside. It’s knocked down and almost broken in half.

The dog has left his side and has run towards that broken basket, next to which is now sat and staring at Yuuri intensely.

“Want me to go there?” he asks again. The dog barks.

“Makka? Are you there?” A male voice suddenly comes out of nowhere, leaving Yuuri perplexed.

“Hi? Is anybody there?” Yuuri asks in a low voice, afraid he has just walked into an ambush.

“Oh my Goodness! Yes! I’m down here.”

“Down there…?” And then Yuuri sees it. There’s a narrow crack in the ground, but wide enough to swallow a distracted person passing by. “Are you fine?” he shouts now, concerned by the state that person might be in.

“I think I sprained my ankle when I fell, but besides that I’m fine.” Yuuri pops his head into the crack, but all he can see is the silhouette of the man, for it is dark and hard to properly see anything.

He looks around in distress, trying to look for something that can help him lift the man up.

“Hold on. I need to find something to help me pull you up with.”

“Look in the basket. There might be a rope long enough!” They’re both shouting in order to hear each other.

A couple minutes later, Yuuri is dropping down the crack the knotted end of the rope he found.

“Please, be long enough,” he mutters, and takes a relieved and deep breath when he hears it reaches the ground loosely. “Now, pass it through your head and put it under your arms. Make sure it’s tight enough for you and that you’re held safely as well.”

“Got it!”

“Fine. Let me know when you’re ready!”

“I think I am,” he kind of whispers after a minute. “Are you strong enough? I’m not precisely light,” he says in a choked voice.

Yuuri smiles. He wouldn’t have been able to some months ago, but now that he can’t use his wings he needs his arms and legs for everything. That was no longer a problem. “Don’t worry,” he assures. The man believes him. There aren’t many more choices, though.

“Let’s go then.”

It takes almost fifteen minutes to get the man up. Yuuri doesn’t want to rush and put the man in danger, so he steadily pulls the rope up. When it’s long enough he ties it to a tree and takes advantage of the new support to release the tension in his arms.

Not much later, a head pops out the crack. His face is filthy with soil and his hair is messy and dirty. Yuuri keeps pushing until his upper part is showing off the crack and the man is trying to propel himself up with his knee.

They look at each other,

“Oh no,” whispers Yuuri.

“Oh God,” the wingless man says. And Yuuri lets the rope go.

A human.

 

 

There’s a lesson every child in Hasetsu is taught since birth: humans are dangerous.

It’s not an unfounded fear, though. Not many humans have been able to find Hasetsu, but those few who have were ill-intentioned and nothing good came from their stay in the village, only chaos and pain.

Yuuri had never seen a human, though. The last one arrived in the village two years before he was born, when Mari was five. Ever since, the people of Hasetsu have been quiet about the issue and everything human-related was avoided.

Nevertheless, everyone knows what fate that last human suffered from: death.

Despite everything, Yuuri was not exactly afraid of humans, for his parents only taught him to beware them. Mari and Yuuri grew surrounded by books about humans, their virtues and vices, and he was more curious than anything.

 “Hey!” There comes a voice from the crack. Yuuri slowly approaches it and finds the human is hanging from the rope, which is still tied to the tree. “I could use some help here, if you don’t mind.”

Yuuri remains agape and wide-eyed, not able to move a single muscle.

“You know, it should be me the one astounded and freaked out. But I’m in no position for that, no pun intended, so I would strongly appreciate a helping hand.” Yuuri is distracted by the way the human moves his mouth and looks at him, but he gets out of his reverie when the dog starts barking again.

“Oh. Oh, sure, sorry.” He gets as far as he can from the crack —any precaution is welcomed— and starts pulling again until the man is sat in the grass, as far from the crack as he can. The dog jumps into his lap and starts licking his face, tickling the human and making him laugh.

“Good girl. You’re a good girl, Makka!” The dog barks in delight to his owner praises. “You found help!”

And Yuuri? Yuuri has finally taken the human in.

He has eyes as blue as the sea and hair as silver as the moon, cut short but with a side fringe falling over his eye. The shape of his face is sharp but, somehow, that makes him looks softer. It’s probably the smile, Yuuri wonders, he has a fascinating smile. And he’s dressed up in weird clothes, or at least that’s what Yuuri thinks.

But that’s not the problem. Oh no. He now has a whole new concern. He didn’t know humans could be that good-looking.

Suddenly, the human is looking straight at him, head tipped, and a violent blush stains Yuuri’s ears with red in a matter of seconds. He looks everywhere but the human’s gaze.

But the human is still staring despite Yuuri is avoiding his eyes and suddenly there’s something more than embarrassment in Yuuri. It’s not fear, he swears, he’s not afraid of humans. But he’s getting nervous each passing second the human doesn’t take his eyes off him.

What if the human wants to attack him? What if he tricked him and he entered directly the lion’s den? What if every human is indeed heartless and a chaos bearer? Maybe this is where his life comes to an end.

The human must feel it, must see it in his eyes, the panic, the terror, because he suddenly drops his gaze and looks instead at the grass.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters. “I’d never seen anyone like you before. I mean no wrong.”

And Yuuri can breathe again because that sounded like an honest apology.

“I… I’d never seen a human before either,” he whispers.

“Oh… I don’t mind keeping the distance if that makes you feel better. I just…would really appreciate some company.”

“No! I mean…” Yuuri’s mouth refuses to produce meaningful sentences. “It’s fine. I… uh.”

“Thank you.” The human interrupts him. “For helping me.”

Yuuri nods, unable to speak again.

“I’m Victor, by the way. And this big girl here, she’s Makkachin. But I like to call her Makka.”

Yuuri looks at the dog, who has her tongue lolling and black shiny eyes directed at him.

“I’m Yuuri,” he says, louder this time.

“Nice to meet you, Yuuri.”

 

They talk. Well, the human, Victor, talks. Yuuri listens.

He’s an inventor, he says. He has always been. He got it from his mother, who was an inventor as well and taught him everything he needed to become one.

“That’s how I built the hot air balloon and arrived here,” he confesses, pointing at the mess that surrounds them. “But… We kind of had an accident and I had to do an emergency landing. A disastrous emergency landing, if I must be honest.”

Yuuri doesn’t really understand how he could even move that deflated and broken balloon, but he pretends he is definitely understanding.

“But as soon I can make it fly again, I can leave. So don’t worry about that!” Yuuri’s eyes widen at the mention of flying.

“I didn’t know humans could fly!”

“We actually can’t,” he admits, smiling. “But we can build things that allow us to! This balloon is filled with hot hair and the basket is tied to its end. Once it’s completely filled it just floats and it supports our weight. Isn’t it amazing?” Both Victor and Yuuri are enthralled by the balloon, each one for different reasons.

“It must be breath-taking, flying with your own wings.”

“I…” he is caught by surprise and he can feel how his heart starts beating faster when he can feel Victor admiring his wings. His useless wings. He unconsciously folds them as much as he can, almost hiding them. “Yeah.”

 

They stay like that for hours. They barely speak or make any sound, feeling the presence of each other at a few meters away is enough for now. At some point, the human whispers something into the dog’s ear and she raises her head and smells the air in direction to Yuuri.

Yuuri feels… Observed. The human says something to the dog again and in a matters of second she’s approaching Yuuri slowly, wagging her tail. Once she’s next to him the dog rolls on her back and Yuuri swears she’s smiling to him.

“She likes belly rubs,” the human says, quietly at first. Yuuri looks at him, question mark in his face in the form of a _Can I pet her?_

“She definitely _loves_ belly rubs.” And Yuuri needs no more, he stretches out with his hand and pets the dog, who’s delighted that she’s being given love.

But after a while the belly rubs session is interrupted by a growl. The human’s stomach is growling furiously and Victor is getting blushed. Now that Yuuri remembers, ever since he arrived the human hasn’t drunk nor eaten at all, and who knows how long he has been down in the crack without any food left.

It doesn’t take long for him to make a decision; when he realises he’s standing and the human is looking at him puzzled.

“I’ll be back,” he whispers.

He’s gone before the human can even protest and back forty-five minutes later with a jug of water and a small basket full of food.

The sun is almost setting and the colours that fill the sky and the mountains are the perfect company for the blush and the disbelieving expression that the human bears, Yuuri thinks.

He gulps.

Curiosity killed the bird, they say. But at that precise moment, Yuuri thought he wouldn’t mind getting killed if that meant he could see again that expression in his face.

 

* * *

 

“Phichit.”

“Oh, hey Yuuri,” answers his best friend. “Boy, you’ve been hard to find these past days! Is everything fine? There are dark circles under your eyes.”

“I…”

He has been with Victor. It’s been a couple days since he found him and he has helped him in every way that Yuuri could. He has taken him food, water, a blanket and medicine for his sprained ankle. He has collected all his scattered belongings and cleaned up the mess his balloon was, so he wouldn’t be spotted by anyone.

It’s become easier to get closer to Victor, easier to talk to him, to laugh with him. Yuuri has finally checked that Victor’s intentions were not harmful and that he, indeed, arrived to the valley by accident. He was not a threat to Hasetsu nor its people, and that was precisely the problem.

If he took him to the village and someone saw him, what if their first reaction was to imprison Victor? Or to throw him out and leave him wandering with no means to fix his balloon? He totally understands people’s distrust and fear of humans, especially after Victor told him about how cruel some humans were, but he didn’t want Victor to suffer the consequences of past actions.

So, the other alternative Yuuri thought of: keep Victor in a nearby cave, visit him as much as he could and provide him with all the tools he needed to fix the balloon until he was ready to leave.

But Yuuri didn’t like that alternative at all either.

Yuuri had been having more trouble than usual to sleep since he found Victor. Every time he closed his eyes he thought of Victor sleeping under the stars, sprained ankle impeding him from defending himself from anything or anyone, a sudden storm soaking him, someone finding and raising the alarm, Victor getting lost... The possibilities were endless in Yuuri’s head.

He hasn’t been able to sleep at all, to be honest. He just can’t leave Victor in the valley on his own, for the sake of Victor, Makkachin, Yuuri’s own well-being and the guilty that is eating him up. Besides, Victor doesn’t admit it, but Yuuri can tell he feels lonely and sad, and he’s not putting anyone else’s mental health at risk for his selfishness.

He needs to do something, that’s why…

 

 “I need to tell you something,” he whispers to Phichit, who suddenly changes his expression.

“Yuuri are you fine? Is it about your wings? I know…” Yuuri interrupts him.

“I’m fine. I’m…” he sighs. “It’s not about me.”

Phichit is, at the very least, confused. “Your family?” A panicked expression overcomes him. Yuuri shakes his head.

“Phichit… I…” He doesn’t even know where to start, but he does know that his best friend is safe ground. “I found a human.” He speaks in such a quiet tone that wonders if Phichit has heard him. But he did.

“You found a _what_?” he is suddenly shouting and Yuuri covers Phichit’s mouth with his own hand.

“Shhhh. Don’t! Don’t shout. Oh my goodness Phichit.”

“Yuuri! Are you seriously telling me you found a human? A _living_ human?” His eyes keep widening by the second, Yuuri’s hand still on his mouth.

Yuuri gulps and takes the hand away.

“I did.”

“Yuuri!”

“Stop repeating my name!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He’s shaking Yuuri from the shoulders.

“I… Didn’t know how you were going to react. I didn’t want to put him at risk.”

Phichit puts his hand on his chin and thinks. “Why are you telling me now?”

“I can’t leave him alone in the valley anymore.” He’s about to tell Phichit he’s afraid of anything happening to him but a blush floods his cheeks. Yuuri huffs and buries his face in his hands.

“He… He needs some tools so he can fix his flying balloon. But I’m afraid he will not be welcomed into the city” He remembers Victor told him he was lacking some tools to repair the balloon, so Yuuri finds that a good excuse.

“Yuuri… Yuuri you’re crushing on him. Yuuri you’re crushing on the human!” Phichit cheers.

“I’m not! I just want to help him!” Phichit wiggles his eyebrows. “Stop it Phichit! I just met him two days ago”

“Oh our Yuuri is blushing!”

“Shut up! We’re going to be heard.”

“This is your punishment for not telling me sooner.”

 

Fifteen minutes later, they’re heading to Victor’s hideaway.

“Are you sure his intentions are good?” Phichit is much more serious now that he’s actually going to meet the human.

“I think so. He’s never done anything suspicious and he respects my personal space. And he also has this cute dog, Makkachin, she’s the cutest and sometimes…”

“Yuuri,” Phichit whispers. “You’re babbling”. Yuuri flushes and changes the conversation.

“You’re better at reading people than me. You tell me once you meet him.”

Phichit only smirks.

 

Phichit and Victor instantly get along as soon as they are introduced to each other, which is no surprise to Yuuri, given the fact that both of them could speak nonstop to a plant for hours without getting bored.

Yuuri lets out the breath he was keeping. He is relieved that Phichit is responding this well to the first encounter. First obstacle: over.

They put Victor into situation —Yuuri hadn’t told him why he wasn’t taking Victor to the village and the poor human thought Yuuri actually hated him—. After Yuuri’s apologies for five minutes straight, they start planning.

“There’s enough place for him to stay at the onsen… But there’s no way my parents won’t notice there’s another person living with us. And a dog.” At that Victor nods.

“I don’t mind being locked up… But Makkachin needs to go out. And… we also need to get the hot air balloon in, which is heavier than it looks.” Victor points at the folded fabric and the basket. “And a room big enough for it to fit.”

“My house is too small and my parents are not really fond of humans. It could be risky.”

The three of them sigh.

“This is not as easy as it seemed, huh?” Victor smiles, but it’s a sad one. Makkachin instantly licks his cheek to comfort him.

“It’s complicated…” Phichit hugs his knees to his chest. “Humans have hurt us before, more than once, and the general feeling towards them, towards you, “he says, pointing at Victor,” is fear. The people of Hasetsu have learnt from experience and trust is no longer a safe option for us, so it would be kind of risky throwing you into the village out of the blue, it could have worse consequences.”

“And still you aren’t afraid of me?” Victor asks.

“It’s been more than twenty years since the last human arrived in Hasetsu, so it’s actually our parents and grandparents’ generations the ones that still hold onto that fear the strongest. We are kind of forgetful in a way.” Phichit smiles while he rubs his neck. “My parents wouldn’t be proud of me,” he whispers.

“Oh.” That’s the only thing that comes off Victor mouth. An uncomfortable silence surrounds them. They’re lost and no option seems to be reasonable and safe enough.

It’s Yuuri the one who breaks the silence after ten minutes. Phichit is sure he heard his cogs turning.

“Maybe… I could talk to my parents?” Victor looks at him, puzzled, and Phichit just stares. “I mean, the reason I’m not afraid of humans, the reason I don’t hate you, it’s because I’ve been raised by them. My mother has always told me hate comes from the inside. She… I…  Uhm. I think telling them might be the safest choice?”

“Well… I can’t imagine your family hurting Victor nor Makkachin.” Phichit looks thoughtful. “Would you mind, Victor?”

They both look at Victor, who is still at loss for words and is looking at them with lost eyes. His answer, though, is clear.

“I trust Yuuri.”

 

It’s… uncomfortable. The moment prior to telling his parents. His throat is dry and Yuuri feels he is going to throw up the moment he begins to speak. There are a hundred things that could happen, in his mind ninety-nine turn out wrong and only one succeeds.

But he still wants to do it.

He’s never felt the need to fight this hard for someone in his entire life, not even for himself, and he is determined to give Victor and Makkachin a shelter until they are ready to leave safely.

Yuuri doesn’t really know where his courage came from, how this initiative surged directly from his guts, but he is certain that the necessity to protect Victor is the healthiest and most tangible feeling he’s had since his accident, and if he can’t save himself, he at least is going to help others in need the best he can.

That’s the thought that impulse him.

“Okaa-san,” he whispers to his mother.

Hiroko is in the kitchen cooking breakfast. She answers his son without turning around from the counter.

“What is it darling?”

Yuuri gulps and repeats in his mind the words her mother has always told him.

_Humans have hurt us, have broken havoc into Hasetsu more times than we wished, you need to be careful with them. But hate comes from the inside, Yuuri. Don’t let hate blind you into hurting those who don’t deserve it._

He loves his mother. She’s the kindest person he’s ever met. She can do no wrong. She won’t hurt Victor. She can’t hurt Victor.

Yuuri needs to take a deep breath and he can feel how some tears threaten to leave his eyes when he keeps talking.

“Okaa-san. I…” he trails off, but find his courage again. “Okaa-san, I found a human.”

Hiroko drops the knife she was holding, which lands noisily on the floor. She turns around, agape.

“Oh, Yuuri…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: As Yuuri can't fly because of an accident he had but he desperately wants to, he forces himself to and ends up hurting himself more in the proccess. I don't know if that can be considered self-harm, but I wanted to point that out just in case. 
> 
> So, first in, two to go! I hope you liked it <3
> 
> Also, I'm so excited and nervous that I have the feeling that I forgot to say something or add a tag, but I'll check again once I'm calmed down :')
> 
> Edit: Yeah, I forgot I'm also on [tumblr](http://owlishann.tumblr.com)!


	2. Wings of tempest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I was re-reading and I felt I should have said there's a little bit of angst in this chapter? It's nothing especially angsty and it's solved in this same chapter, but just to say, it's Victor now the one who's at a worse mental place. 
> 
> Either way, it seems fluff always wins, cause every time I write angst I need to instantly balance it with fluff.

If Victor had to describe in one only word what had been going on in his life these past days, it would definitively be “surreal”.

His hot air balloon gets caught up in the middle of a summer storm and the only thing he can do to avoid a fatal ending is crashing it against the highest branches of a tree so the impact with the ground is less brutal.

He manages to, somehow, do that safely. For him and Makkachin at least. He can’t say the same for the balloon.

And when he thought that the worst had passed, he falls into a crack and sprains his ankle. He can hear Makkachin barking, crying. He tries to climb the rocky wall, but he keeps falling and hurting his ankle even more.

He gives up, doesn’t even know how many hours have passed, but he can see the starry sky and the moon. He sleeps.

When he wakes up, he tries climbing again. A total failure.

He has given up and is only sorry for leaving Makkachin alone. She has been silent for a while, so when he hears barks he talks to the only and most precious company he has left before he starves.

But there’s a voice, and then there’s also a knotted rope and strong arms pulling him from the darkness.

And those arms… belong to a… an angel? A black-winged angel? He’s dead and in hell for the sins he’s committed.

It turns out he’s not dead. And it also turns out this gorgeous angel is not an angel but a winged creature. A winged creature who is compassionate, and kind and is giving Victor hope and a reason to stand strong again. He doesn’t seem to notice, though, but Victor does.

And three days go by and he happens to be sneaking at the early hours of the morning into a village with the most beautiful houses he’s ever seen. He enters a bath house and he is sitting in its living room, surrounded by Yuuri and his whole winged family, who looks at him in disbelief. But there is no hate nor fear in their eyes, there’s only concern, but it’s a warm one, Victor thinks.

Yuuri’s mother, Hiroko, speaks softly to him. Assures him he’s going to be fine and that they’re going to help him.

He smiles when Yuuri releases what might be the longest and noisiest sigh he’s ever heard.

He is given a room, he is provided with clean clothes, he is fed and he is so thankful that the only thing that comes out of his mouth is “Thank you. I’m really grateful. Thank you so much, truly.”

And his eyes shine because he thought he was going to die alone, as he has always lived, and has ended up getting love and warmth from people that should be fearing him.

Surreal is the fitting word.

Yuuri leads him to the guest’s room and helps him with the bed. Victor instantly falls asleep with Makkachin by his side and a “Thank you, Yuuri” in his lips.

Yuuri smiles and closes the door. “You’re welcome.”

 

* * *

 

Victor thinks it’s weird that he’s excited for having rules, but he is anyway. His parents had never controlled him and ever since he has been alone and traveling the region he felt that no rule applied to him, since he never spent more than a month in each place.

So when Yuuri knocks at his bedroom door the following morning with some rules to follow in order to keep himself safe, he can’t do anything but smile.

“You can’t leave this floor unless we tell you. Guests are only allowed in the first floor, so that’s the one you must avoid. There’s a bathroom at the end of the corridor you can use whenever you want.” Yuuri opens the door and points with his thumb at the closest door. “And that’s my bedroom. If you need something just knock. And that,” he points at another door, “it’s an empty storage room big enough to fit your balloon. You can fix it there.”

He is about to leave, but he turns around again.

“Oh, and don’t worry about meals! Any of us will bring it to you upstairs so you don’t have to go down.”

He is exiting again when he seems to remember something again.

“And I will walk Makkachin. There aren’t prejudices in the village about dogs. Or so I think. So don’t worry about her.”

Victor can only smile and look fondly at Yuuri.

“Thank you.”

Yuuri does leave now with a small wave. “I’ll see you later.”

 

* * *

 

Later becomes a lot. At first it’s subtle. Yuuri is the one that brings him the meals right after they are cooked and asks if he needs something else.

Checks that he has all the tools he needs to fix the balloon, which they recently managed to bring from the part of the valley where Victor landed.

Offers to lend him some clothes, since Victor travelling robes were not the most comfortable ones.

Comes to pick Makkachin for her walk.

At first, Victor thinks Yuuri still suspects him and that’s why he is sticking so close, but he slowly realises that Yuuri is just curious. And, to be honest with himself, he must also admit he is also really curious about the winged man.

Two weeks easily go by and this time when Yuuri brings him lunch, Victor asks him to stay and have lunch with him.

Yuuri stares at him, wide-eyed, silent, but manages a nod and leaves. He is back five minutes later with his own dish and a basket full of fruits. As soon as he sits, Makkachin lays her head on Yuuri’s lap and the softest smile Victor has ever seen lights up his face.

They eat silently, but it’s comfortable.

Victor treasures that moment cause it’s the first time he can take a closer look at Yuuri’s wings without feeling he is making Yuuri nervous.

He hasn’t seen many wings in his whole life, but he is sure Yuuri’s must be one of the most beautiful ones that ever existed. They’re raven black, as dark as a moonless night. And soft, they look so soft that Victor feels the need to sink his hands in his feathers.

Every member of the Katsuki family owns black wings, but whereas Hiroko, Toshiya and Mari have a slight gradation from black to light grey, Yuuri’s keep the same dark colour from the top to the bottom.

And they’re wide. Victor hasn’t had the chance to see them in their maximum width, but he is sure that, once opened, they might reach almost two meters.

And still, for a reason unknown to him, Yuuri folds them and makes them as invisible as he can, as if their mere sight hurt him.

Victor doesn’t ask, he doesn’t feel he has the right to. Not yet.

 

“…inventor?” He is so lost in thought that only realises Yuuri has been speaking when he becomes silent again.

Victor blinks a couple times and looks at Yuuri, who seems amused.

“Sorry,” Victor rubs his neck. “I didn’t hear you.”

“What do you do? As an inventor. I had never met one.”

Oh, that was an easy question.

“I repair things.” Victor answers, and Yuuri frowns.

“But… I thought inventors invented things?” Victor, despite all, lets out a soft laugh.

“That’s what I thought too,” he mutters, because that was his dream. He doesn’t let nostalgia distract him and puts out a smile.

“My inventions are not good enough, it seems. At least not for the people that need my services.” Victor sees regret in Yuuri’s eyes, so he cuts him short before he can say anything. “But it’s fine! I’m good at repairing broken stuff and I can loosely make a living out of it. I own a few repair shops in different cities in the region and I travel from town to town. It’s fine, truly.”

Yuuri hums.

“What are your other inventions apart from the balloon?”

Victor mouth opens and his heart flutters.

“I…” No one. No one has ever before asked about his inventions. No one has ever seemed to care enough.

The question strikes him so hard that he can only open and close his mouth, like a fish out of water.

He cares or he’s being nice?

“Do you really want to know?” he asks, still absurdly astonished. Yuuri nods.

Victor speaks with stars shining in his eyes.

He doesn’t tell Yuuri this, but he isn’t really fine. He doesn’t feel he has the right to. Not yet.

 

* * *

 

Life becomes easier for Victor at the onsen as days go by.

Yuuri now helps him in the fixing of the balloon. More or less. When his shift in the onsen it’s over, he gently knocks at Victor’s repair room’s door, pokes his head, and asks if he can watch.

Victor tells him he can help if he wants, but Yuuri just shakes his head.

“I like to look at you while you work.”

And Yuuri sits close to his working table, bends his legs into his chest and puts his chin on them, and witnesses how the mess of fabrics slowly turns into a balloon again. Victor can feel his eyes stuck into his hands, his arms, his eyes, so he slowly explains what he is doing at each moment.

He wonders, though, if Yuuri is understanding anything at all, but he keeps talking, for he likes to be listened by Yuuri and his curious chocolate eyes that don’t ever leave him.

The balloon, on the other hand, it’s worse than Victor initially thought, the fabric is severely ripped in different parts, and the basket… He seriously considers starting anew. Victor and Makkachin have been very, very lucky they came out alive.

“This is going to take another month at least,” he mutters, eyes fixed on Yuuri. None of them complain.

“Take your time.”

Yuuri smiles.

Victor melts.

They also get touchier. Yuuri’s fingers brush against Victor’s every time he handles anything to him. Slowly and carefully, almost speaking their own language.

And Victor’s hands would find Yuuri’s shoulder, knee, waist whenever he happens to walk close to him, sit close to him, stand close to him.

They’re making up a secret code without words, only with their eyes and bodies. They are afraid of turning it into something too real if they speak. And, still, there are actions louder than words.

 

* * *

 

It’s a cool late august night and Victor is absent-mindedly reading a book when someone knocks at his door.

“I’m awake,” he whispers, heart in hand as there is one only person that would knock at his door this late. The door slightly opens to reveal a smiling Yuuri.

“I was going to take a bath. Everybody has already left and I thought you would like to…”

“Try the hot spring with you?” Yuuri nods.

“Only if you want.”

“I do,” he says as he stands up and pats Makkachin’s head in farewell. “Let’s go.”

Yuuri leads him downstairs and Victor sees the base floor for the first time since he arrived in Hasetsu a month ago. Everything is kept in the darkness, but when they reach the washing room Yuuri lits an oil lamp and the room becomes dimly illuminated by a warm gleam.

“First we wash off. Then we can enter the hot spring.”  

Lights and shadows melt in the room while the carefully wash in silence. Yuuri’s wings project a majestic shadow over the wall and Victor can’t stop looking at him in awe. He can’t believe he is real.

Yuuri looks up.

“Ready?” Victor can only nod.

When they sink in the water the moon turns into their only light source and their skins shine in silver. Victor doesn’t know if he is flushing because of the temperature or because how intimate the moment is.

“When I was like five,” Yuuri suddenly says, slightly beating his dark wings above the water, only to slowly sink them into the pool, “I forgot it was moulting season and I entered the spring at night. I felt asleep in it.”

“You didn’t!” Victor whispers, afraid of disturbing the calm if he speaks louder.

“When I woke up I was surrounded by my own feathers and I thought I was going bald!” Victor breaks into the softest chuckle and Yuuri crinkles his eyes in delight.

“When I was eight,” Victor starts, “I put on my mother’s dress and make up and went to the main square of our village pretending I was her. I did all her errands.”

“No way!”

“I wanted to be the prettiest,” he winkles and now they’re both laughing loudly, but they don’t care.

“You sure were.”

Once they can breathe normally again they fall into a comfortable silence and enjoy the hot springs. But then Victor notices a strand of hair out of place in Yuuri’s fringe. He is moving forward and stretching his arms without even realising.

Yuuri follows his movement with his eyes, but stands still and don’t say a thing. He’s yearning for the touch.

It’s when Victor manages to put the strand of raven hair behind Yuuri’s ear that he realises he has been holding his breath, as if he was handling the most delicate object on Earth. He looks down only to find Yuuri’s eyes wide open and his face blushed from forehead to neck.

Victor instantly takes his hand off Yuuri’s ear, where it still was, and flushes hard and fast.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…” But before Victor can get any further, Yuuri takes his hand with his own. He stills, wide-eyed, and worries his lower lip.

“I don’t mind,” he mutters. And his gaze lands on Victor red cheeks. Yuuri reaches out now, at first unsure, as if he was afraid of the contact, but he finally rests his hand on Victor’s face. He ends up tangling his fingers in Victor’s fringe.

They look straight at each other’s eyes, where the sea meets the soil. They are lacking oxygen, enthralled and lost in their looks as they are.

“I don’t know,” Yuuri whispers, as if revealing a secret, “I don’t know how someone could hate you.”

“You don’t. That’s enough.”

Yuuri gulps. Their secret code is shattered into pieces and words take its place. They’re two magnets circling each other and the collision is imminent.

“Is this fine?” Yuuri finally asks, knowing that everything is becoming too real.

“It is as long as you’re fine with it.”

And Yuuri takes Victor’s hand again and places it on top of his chest, over his beating heart.

“It says it’s fine.”

Victor heart beats to the same rhythm, but he is sure Yuuri already knows that. And in the blink of an eye they’re moving slowly towards each other, undoubtedly, confidently.

Victor bows his head and lets his forehead rest atop Yuuri’s, noses almost bumping, eyes closed. They synchronise their breathings, wet their lips. They aren’t nervous anymore and their worlds are becoming one.

But, suddenly, they make up the sound of steps approaching them in the silence of the night.

It happens too fast for Victor to say what happens, but all he knows is that Yuuri’s wings are fully spread out and he is behind them, hidden to the view. Both their hearts are about to jump off their chests and Victor can only stay still. He wouldn’t be able to move even if he wanted.

“Yuuri!” The voice of a man reaches Victor’s ears. He seems to be drunk. “What are you doing out here this late boy?”

The question is followed by the sound of a body entering the hot water.

“I…” Yuuri trails off. “I needed to take a bath.”

The man is silent for a whole minute, and if another second goes by Victor is sure the man will be able to listen to his galloping heart. He doesn’t seem to notice Victor, though.

“Oh, right. Your accident,” the man finally says. Victor frowns. “How are you doing, boy? They still hurt?”

Victor can tell how every inch of Yuuri’s body tenses, how his wings are almost trembling.

“They still do.” And Yuuri sounds painfully small. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about it, but the drunk man insists.

“You better fly soon.” The man hiccups. “You might be mistaken for a human if you still walk everywhere.”

Victor doesn’t know what to do with all that new information, but above all he wants to hold Yuuri’s clenched fists and tell him everything is all right. But he can’t. Not right now.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Yuuri mutters between his teeth. His trembling must be now obvious to the man, but he ignores it.

“Oh, but there is. You don’t really want to resemble one of those filthy rats, kid. You know what happened to the last one, ask your parents.”

“I’m not a kid, sir.” The sir comes out almost as a growl and Yuuri sounds at the verge of tears.

And Victor is so helpless, oh, so mad at the same time. He wishes he could punch that man in the face. Not for insulting humans, but for leading Yuuri to the state he is currently in.

But again, he can’t. Instead, he places his hand on the place where Yuuri’s wings meet, trying to soothe him. It seems to work, for Yuuri’s shoulders relax.

The man keeps drinking, but he talks to Yuuri no more. The silence is unbearable and this situation seems to have no end. They try not to think about what could happen.

The moon has drastically changed its position in the sky when Yuuri finally dares to lower his wings again, only for Victor to see the winged man passed out from alcohol in front of him, still sat but with his head leant to a side.

They both stand at the same time without taking their eyes off the man. They don’t speak, they only make silent steps until they have left the hot spring successfully, holding their breaths and looking terrified. Neither of them dare to speak.  

Yuuri doesn’t look at him in the whole way back to the upper floor.

“Yuuri…” Victor whispers when they reach his bedroom.

“I’m sorry,” he says, still without turning to look at him. “I’m sorry.”

He gets into his room and leaves Victor alone in the hallway.

Victor only wishes he had seen Yuuri’s spread out wings in a completely different situation.

He’ll talk to him next morning.

 

But he can’t find Yuuri anywhere in the upper floor the following morning.

It’s nothing to worry about at first. Yuuri leaves some mornings and comes back in the afternoon. Yuuri meets Phichit, or goes out to do errands, or does whatever he wants to do. Yuuri doesn’t owe him anything and Victor doesn’t possess Yuuri’s time, which is perfectly fine and understandable.

But he worries when some hours pass by and Yuuri still isn’t back. Especially after the events of the last night and the way Yuuri was behaving.

He tries to distract himself in every way that he can, but it doesn’t work. It’s almost night time again and he’s done nothing but worrying and sitting down in front of the balloon, unable to get a hold of any of the tools in front of him.

Yuuri doesn’t bring him dinner. Yuuri always brings him dinner. There’s something wrong.

Victor goes to sleep with mixed feelings and an unsettled mind, resulting in getting no sleep at all. So, at some point in the early hours of the morning, he hears tired steps that head for Yuuri’s bedroom and a door crackling open.

He gets up and opens his own door as fast as he can, but the door to Yuuri’s bedroom has been already closed. He goes to bed again and hugs Makkachin, who puppy kisses his cheeks.

It only gets worse.

“He’s busy today doing some errands, but he’ll be back.”

“He’s gone out for a walk.”

“He’s going to meet Phichit.”

“He doesn’t feel that well today.”

Almost three days have gone by since he was almost discovered and the only time he has seen Yuuri has been when they woke up at the same time that morning and met in the hallway. Yuuri muttered a fast _goodmorning_ and hurried downstairs.

He has heard Yuuri coming home every night, and every time he opened the door the other one was already closed. He has looked for him, knocked at his door, but he gets no answer, he’s never there.

Has he done something wrong? Did he mess up by trying to kiss him? Did Yuuri regret helping him? Did he? Did he?

But no question seems to have an answer and the tightness in his chest only seems to grow stronger as Yuuri keeps avoiding him.

The four walls that surround him are less of a house and are turning more into a prison, and it’s not until he is sitting with his legs to his chest in the same stool Yuuri used to sat at to see him work that he realises how much he needs Yuuri.

 _Why_ , Victor wonders, _I’ve always been alone. Why can’t I stand this by myself?_

But again, nothing he thinks of makes sense.

He can’t even work on the hot air balloon. He’s almost hammered his own hand twice and he eventually decided to stop.

 _But you need to fix it soon if you’re not welcomed here anymore_ , he reminds himself. _Not now, I can’t right now. I’m broken. I’m choking_.

Makkachin is a constant presence by his side, she wets Victor’s feet with her nose every time she can. And that, in a way, soothes him.

“Do you miss Yuuri too?” And Makka barks in agreement.

 

* * *

 

Someone knocks at his door at dinner time and its cadence reminds him of the rhythm Yuuri’s knuckles do when knocking. His heart flutters.

But it’s Hiroko with his dinner, not Yuuri.

“Are you fine, Vicchan?” She asks, seeing through him as soon as she places the meal on the table.

Victor only nods, but doesn’t look at her. If he speaks all his fears might spill over.

“Yuuri went for a walk. He sometimes does when he is worried, but he’ll be back soon.”

He nods again.

“Did something happen?” She asks, and Victor is about to tell her, he swears. There’s still an anxious feeling stuck in his chest, the sight of Yuuri hiding him behind his wings etched in his mind, the words of the drunk man ringing in his hears and he really can’t keep all that to himself.

But he finally shakes his head and no one speaks again.

Hiroko is about to leave, but stops to pet Makkachin. She speaks without looking at Victor.

“Sometimes it’s hard for Yuuri to be happy, but he’s been ever since you arrived.”

Victor falls silent, and Hiroko keeps talking. How can she be so nice when he’s being a piece of garbage?

“He’s really helping you, doesn’t he? I can see that. But he’s not the only one, you’re also helping him. Don’t stop.”

“I…” Victor murmurs, feeling how his eyes get teary.

Now she does look at him, and she must see that he’s breaking down, for she sits by his side. Makkachin goes after her, looking for some more affection.

“Sometimes, Yuuri looks at himself through other persons’ eyes, but he never asks if that’s what they think, he only supposes. Most times when you suppose you make mistakes.”

Victor doesn’t really know what Hiroko is talking about, his eyes are blurry from the tears and his head hurts from the lack of sleep.

He frowns when Hiroko raises up and pats his head, as if he was Makkachin.

“You’re a good man, Vicchan.”

“Thank you,” he murmurs, but she has already left.

 _Maybe_ , Victor thinks while he sobs in silence, _maybe I’m not as broken as I think_.

 

* * *

 

It’s almost one in the morning when Yuuri comes back home and everything hurts as it has never hurt before.

He just wants to crash into his bed and let his sleep do the numbing work that he needs. Even climbing the stairs up drains the energy he has left. He ignores Victor’s door as well as he can —he actually isn’t good at it— and goes straight for his.

There’s… Kind of an obstacle, if he should call it that way.

“Victor?”

Victor is sat with his back to Yuuri’s door, hair all messy and clothes incredibly ruffled. His cheeks are rosy and his eyes are closed, but as soon as Yuuri pronounces his name they slowly open and look at Yuuri, squinting.

“Yuuri?” He mutters really soft, but there’s something else in his voice.

“Victor, are you… drunk?” Now that he can take a better look at him he can smell strong of sake and notices his eyes are glassy and a bit red.

“Your… Toshiya… He brought me, uhm, it was a clear liquid. Not water, tastier. Uhm…” Victor is drifting away.

“Sake?” Yuuri helps and Victor nods enthusiastically before he stops with a _bad idea, head hurts_. “How much did you drink?”

“Not much. But didn’t eat much and, whooooops, drunk!” He laughs softly and lets out a sigh.

“And, uhm, why… why are you out here?” Yuuri doesn’t really want to ask that question, he fears the answer.

“I wanted to see you.” That comes out clearer than everything Victor has previously spoken and Yuuri’s heart squeezes, but he doesn’t really know if it’s in a good or in a bad way.

“Oh…” He’s being awkward, he knows. And Victor must feel it too. “I’m, uhm… I’m here.”

“You’re here but you’re not here.”

Victor closes his eyes and speaks so quiet that Yuuri struggles to understand him, so he approaches him and slowly takes in some more details.

Victor’s eyelashes are long, the longest he’s ever seen. He feels tempted to touch them, but he holds back. He lowers his gaze to his cheeks and he is now surprised to see trails of dry tears on them.

He worries. _Is he fine? Did I hurt him? If he hated me now he hates me even more._

But Victor suddenly opens his eyes and stares straight at him, cutting his string of thoughts and starting him that much that he falls back on his ass and hits the wall behind him.

“Sorry not sorry,” Victor chuckles. Yuuri gulps cause there’s a sad tint to his voice that doesn’t go along with his words. There’s something really wrong.

“Do you want me to help you into your room?” Yuuri slowly stands up again and keeps looking at Victor. He feels weird after so many days avoiding him, but he can’t just let him outside.

“Would you?” That comes out sour and with raised eyebrows and a dry laugh and Yuuri definitely deserves that despite how much it hurts.

And still, drunk Victor realises.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean that.” He closes his eyes again, as if he didn’t want to see Yuuri, as if it causes him physical pain. It’s now Yuuri the one who sighs.

“Let’s get you back to your room,” and he tries to incorporate Victor from his waist, but Victor doesn’t collaborate at all. He’s tired and Victor just pushes down again.

“Don’t want to.”

“You can’t sleep on the hallway Victor, come on.” Victor still keeps his eyes closed.

“Don’t want to.”

“Why don’t you want to go into your room?” Yuuri is desperate and tired and just want to go to sleep, wake up and pretend again this hasn’t happened.

“I can’t breathe there.”

There’s silence in the hallway for a whole minute and only Victor’s whisper breaks it.

“The walls keep getting closer, the room keeps getting smaller. I can’t make it bigger anymore. I’m choking, I keep ruining things” And a tear comes out of Victor’s closed eyes.

Yuuri’s heart breaks.

It’s his fault. He let Victor alone and this happened. And he can’t even find his own voice to say he’s sorry.

“Yuuri I want to breathe again. I’m supposed to fix things and I’m broken instead.” And he finally opens his eyes.

And he knows Victor is not asking for a literal solution, but that’s all that Yuuri can think of cause it’s the only way Yuuri manages to breathe again when everything is too tight.

And he might be mad and putting their lives at risk, but he doesn’t really care, not right now.

“Stand up,” he mutters while he passes his arm around Victor’s waist. “We’re going out.”

                                                                                                                     

The stars guide them and the moon illuminates their way until they reach a tiny cliff overlooking a river and sit, feet hanging from the border. The summer breeze caresses their hair and gets them goosebumps.

Victor’s drunkenness has slowly faded and the only thing that remains is an uncomfortable silence around them. They avoid each other’s look.

A huge owl flies over their heads, hooting.

Neither of them know how to start, how to amend their pain, but it’s Victor the one who breaks the silence.

“I thought I had done something wrong and you wanted me to leave.” Yuuri looks at him in bewilderment.

“What? I-I would never think that way! I…” He falls silent.

There is a tangle of feelings he hasn’t even stopped to understand yet, and speaking right now would mean letting all of them out in a messy and painful row. Addressing the incident with the drunk guest would mean talking about his wings, would mean talking about his accident, about his fears, about their almost kiss, about how important of a person Victor has turned into, about how he’s going to leave sooner or later.

Yuuri’s chest hurts.

“Yuuri, you’ve been avoiding me for half a week,” Victor mutters. But it’s not aggressive, it’s not reproachful, it’s… softness mixed up with a bit of pain.

“I…” He repeats, and worries his lip, he goes for the easiest answer. “I actually thought you wouldn’t want to see me after… After that night. I just…”

 _Oh_. Victor thinks, and Hiroko’s words about Yuuri that afternoon make sense all of a sudden.

 _Sometimes, Yuuri looks at himself through other persons’ eyes, but he never asks if that’s what they think, he only supposes. Most times when you suppose you make mistakes_.

Victor takes a deep breath and rushes to speak again.

“Yuuri, I would never think less of you for what happened that night. I could only thank you!”

Yuuri had been so wrong, oh, so, so wrong. He had been avoiding Victor because he thought it was for the better, because he thought Victor would finally be free to leave without carrying the burden of Yuuri’s insecurities.

“But I won’t deny these past days didn’t hurt.”

Yuuri can feel his heart breaking. He thought he was making Victor free and he was only causing him pain.

“Victor, I… I’m sorry, I…”

“Shhh.” He silences Yuuri with a finger to his lips. “Stop apologizing to me. I know you’re sorry.” And he smiles, and it’s genuine this time. “Next time, talk to me.”

The thought that Victor still waits for a next time warms his heart, but there’s still a tight feeling to it. Victor reads his mind again.

“You don’t have to tell me anything that you don’t want to, you don’t owe me anything. But… Talk to me when you doubt yourself, talk to me when you don’t know what I’m thinking.”

Yuuri can’t look at him, there’s something too heavy in his chest that is creeping up his throat, threatening to spill. He thought he wasn’t going to, he didn’t need to let his feelings out, but without realising he opens his mouth and his dark cloud is finally free.

“I actually thought… I had let you down and you hated me for putting your safety at risk. I thought you would be disappointed at the fact that I can’t…” But he doesn’t say the word, for a sob breaks him from inside.

“Yuuri, no. Oh Yuuri, I would never…” But Yuuri shakes his head and lets out a muffled _let me finish_ , because he’s been worrying for too long and he’s been doing things he knows he regrets. And he’s hurting that much, has been hurting that much for the past months, that he suddenly needs to let it all out before he needs to put it under a lock again.

“I can’t fly. I’m afraid to fall. I had an accident, I fell and I hurt my wings and I can’t fly because the only thing I see when I try is my fall.” Tears come in stream between hiccups, but Yuuri keeps going on. “And I’ve been trying, I swear I have, every single day, but I only hurt myself worse, and these past days I’ve been, I’ve been…” He needs to stop to breathe and when he does the sobs consume him and he’s not able to speak anymore.

He feels Victor’s arm surrounding him, warm against the cold of the night, the cold of the fear. Yuuri lets himself be held and his head finds a fitting place in Victor’s neck, where he cries unaware of time going by.

At some point Victor starts stroking his hair delicately as he keeps whispering soothing and encouraging words to Yuuri’s ear. He makes sure Yuuri is still squeezed in his other arm

“Oh, Yuuri,” he mutters when he feels Yuuri has stopped shaking. “I could never be disappointed at that. You’re so brave for even trying.”

“But my family…” His voice comes out small and broken and Victor’s heart hurts.

“Yuuri, they don’t mind. And still, you don’t need to do this for them. You need to do this for you.”

Yuuri takes a deep deep breath that turns out watery.

“I tried to help you and you have ended up helping me. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“You should be apologizing to yourself, not to me.”

“But…”

“Yuuri, you’re already helping me. You have risked your life in a month and a half more times that I have risked it in my whole life. And not even for yourself but for me, a completely stranger.”

Yuuri lets out another sob.

“You’re not awful, you’re not a coward, you have a heart of gold and you can’t even see it!”

It’s Yuuri now the one who hugs Victor with all his strength.

It’s strange how their bodies fit as if they were two connecting pieces of a puzzle or how their breathings synchronise.

But what Yuuri finds the most amazing is the fact that he’s been able to open up to Victor with such relative easiness and, despite all the obstacles, Victor trusts him.

“Just talk to me,” Victor repeats.

They share whispered secrets until the sun threatens with coming out and revealing their trip to the entirety of Hasetsu.

The way home is also made in silent, but it’s a completely different one from the one they shared on their way out of Hasetsu. It’s cozy and almost tangible with the presence of each other. Their exchanging looks and smiles are all they need to explain how they feel, for they have run out of words for today.

Yuuri can feel the weight of something new in his stomach, a feeling that started out small and has been slowly growing without him realising until now, that it’s turned into something too obvious.

The stairs of the onsen creak despite their hushed steps and both of them are reminded of the last time they went upstairs so late in the night. It doesn’t matter anymore.

They stop in front of Yuuri’s door to look at each other and Yuuri is struck again with Victor’s previous self-harming words. With a steady arm, he lets his hand rest on Victor’s cheek and looks at him with tender eyes and a crooked smile.

“Victor…” Deep breath. Clear voice. “You’re not broken.”

Victor looks at him with amazed eyes and seconds go by.

One second.

Two lips meeting for the first time, softly, caringly.

Three seconds.

Four wandering hands, on a neck, on a chest, on a cheek, on a waist.

And there’s nothing more than the presence of each other, than the warmth of their caressing lips and their ragged breath and the sweet moans that Yuuri lets out and turn into music to Victor’s ears. Their bodies keep pressing against each other as if leaving an inch of separation was a sin.

“I wish,” Victor whispers in between long and slow kisses. “I wish I could fly with you.”

Yuuri’s answer to Victor’s plea it’s deepening the kiss and threading his fingers in Victor’s silver hair with affection.

“I wish you also could.” And Victor’s eyes light up.

The first rays of sun of the day find them together in the corridor, drinking in each other’s view, resting in each other body.

“You’re not broken either,” Victor muses, wording his previous thoughts. His heart skips a beat and he takes a deep breath before speaking.

“I guess we’re not.”

Here’s the thing with Victor Nikiforov. He thought he was so broken that he wouldn’t be able to live anymore, to love anymore.

Here’s the other thing with Victor Nikiforov. He was wrong, deeply and awfully wrong and it’s not until Hiroko and Yuuri reverently tell him that he slowly realises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really special chapter for me to write, I hope you all enjoyed reading it as well! This was also when I realized I got far too invested in this fic.
> 
> Next and last chapter will be finally up on saturday (I know I said it was going to be before that day, but I just couldn't help it). 
> 
> I'm also on [tumblr](http://owlishann.tumblr.com), I'll be there if someone wants to say hi! <3


	3. Waves of freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, this is over *cries*. I hope you've enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it (despite the writer's break down from time to time). I also hope you all like this chapter as well :')

He’s flying.

That’s the first thing he notices. That he is flying, black wings spread and glorious, the valley below him, the winter breeze playing with his feathers. Despite being a wintery day, the sun is shining and warm enough to keep him comfortable.

That’s why when he enters the storm it’s too late for him to realise.

The violent wind throws him in wild twirls and before he realises he is spinning down to the ground out of control. The ground grows closer and closer and all he can do is trying to soften the fall with his eyes closed.

When he wakes up all he remembers is pain and the distant sound of thunders.

Pain and her mother’s gentle hands. His nightmare has just begun.

 

* * *

 

The first days of September make way to new summer storms. One night, when the rolling thunders are more boisterous than usual, Victor finds himself awake in the darkness.

Makkachin has never liked storms, but this one is especially violent, the wind is blowing strong and the noises it produces could almost be considered supernatural. The dog cries every time the walls are shaken by the branches and she ends up lightly brushing Victor’s feet with her wet nose. He lets her sneak into the sheets.

“There you go,” he quietly says when Makkachin finds her comfortable spot right next to Victor.

It seems they are not the only one that can’t sleep that night.

There come three raps on the door and even before Victor can answer Yuuri’s head pokes into the room. He’s dishevelled and carries his pillow under his arm.

“I can’t sleep.” But he doesn’t dare to enter Victor’s room, only waits on the outside.

Victor sits on his bed and drinks in the vision. It sure must be a vision. He answers anyway.

“Come in.” The words come out of his mouth as an enchantment meant to draw Yuuri in, who suddenly steps ahead, closes the door and stops right next to Victor’s bed.

Makkachin pokes her head from under the sheets and wiggles her tail and Yuuri smiles, still not laying next to Victor.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” Victor asks.

“I don’t like storms.” Silence. “I had a nightmare.” Again, he folds his wings to make them look smaller behind him and Victor needs no more. The bed is big enough to fit the three of them, so he leaves a space big enough for Yuuri and pats the mattress.

Yuuri needs no more either, he puts his pillow next to Victor’s and slips into the bed in a swift movement.

Sharing darkness is different from sharing daylight. Their breaths are louder, their heartbeats even audible and the warmth that their bodies radiate turns into something tangible.

But there’s something else that happens in the darkness, it transcends the physical. It’s more about how the poor light that goes through the window catches on Victor’s eyelashes or how every whispered word sounds like a secret. In the darkness, we dare to speak things we don’t in the daylight.

That’s why as soon as they are face to face, only a few inches between their lips, Yuuri speaks.

“Are you ok?”

Victor frowns. He should be the one asking that, it’s Yuuri the one who had a nightmare and couldn’t sleep.

“The other day,” he adds, “you were sad and drunk in front of my room. I didn’t ask then and I really wanted to but I didn’t find the time.”

“Oh…” Victor looks at the spot in Yuuri’s face that is lit by the moonlight. Maybe it’s magic. “I’m fine. I’m fine now.”

They entwine their fingers and let their hands rest close to Victor’s chest. Yuuri could try to sleep now, to remain silent, but he doesn’t.

“But your eyes are sad.”

Oh, and Victor is now sure. This is magic. It’s a spell. And it’s all over him, all over Yuuri, and he can’t avoid its effect anymore.

“I sometimes am.” And with his thumb, he unceasingly rubs Yuuri’s palm. He doesn’t know how to keep talking, but Yuuri doesn’t insist and that only makes him braver.

“I’ve been alone for a long time. Ever since my parents died Makkachin has been my only company. I thought I was fine like that, that I got used to it.” Victor smiles sourly, as if it was something that didn’t pain him anymore, as if smiling would make it less painful.

Yuuri lets out a deep breath, but doesn’t say anything. He listens.

“I’ve been thinking about it lately. Because… It’s different here, I feel kind of alive again when I’m here. I’m also thinking of my parents a lot as well, and… about my life in general.” _About the day I need to leave_ , that’s what he doesn’t say, but the feeling lingers in the air.

Yuuri draws him to his embrace and holds him in silence while he draws a pattern in Victor’s back with his free hand.

Victor needs no more, Yuuri’s silence is loud enough, Yuuri’s hands are supportive enough. They fall asleep together like that, in each other’s arm, and not even the storm can wake them up from their temporary shelter.

 

What does wake Victor up the following morning is Hiroko’s voice chattering to someone really close to the stairs. She sounds a bit worried.

Still with his eyes closed, Victor tries to understand what the conversation is about, but apart from the mention of wild animals nothing else makes sense, so he lets the feeling of waking up next to Yuuri consume him.

“Good morning,” Victor mutters when he finally opens his eyes and smiles at the sight. Yuuri grumbles and hides his face in the crook of Victor’s neck.

“Morning.”

“How is my sleeping beauty doing?” Victor asks.

“Too early. Sleep more. Now.”

And Victor melts, he doesn’t know how he has survived without mornings like this. He gives a kiss to Yuuri’s crown and chuckles. But their hushed voices become silent when Hiroko goes up the stairs with the other person, still talking.

Victor’s gaze is fixed on the door, still trying to understand Hiroko’s worry. It’s not necessary anymore when Yuuri starts whispering.

“People in the village are worried. Apparently there have been animals going missing in the nearby farms, as well as food and supplies and we are suspecting it’s a wild animal.”

Yuuri owns all of Victor’s attention now.

“My mum is worried cause since we keep a lot of food in the storages rooms for our guests it’s probable that the animal will end up here.”

“For how long…?”

“It’s been happening for a week or so, and since we don’t know what kind of animal it could be… We need to be really careful. Sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

“It’s fine, not that I go out that much to have the misfortune to find it,” he says with a smile.

“But, still, be careful.”

“I will.”

Yuuri looks Victor in the eye and nuzzles his nose with Victor’s delicately, completely awake now.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispers into Victor’s ear.

 

* * *

 

Things come back to normal as days goes by and Victor finds himself again in the repair room working on the hot air balloon, with Yuuri sat in his usual stool by his side. It’s already fixed, the balloon, but he doesn’t tell Yuuri. He pretends it’s not because once Victor officially finishes repairing the balloon he has no excuse to stay hidden in Hasetsu.

There’s something new between them, it’s lighter, but heavier at the same time. It sits in their stomachs, in their eyes, but neither of them speak a word about it cause they more or less know what’s about: the goodbye is imminent.

That’s the last thing they want to talk about, so they pretend everything is fine, time is not ticking by at all, and as their relation grows closer they forget that feeling is sitting in their stomachs, almost stalking them. It doesn’t matter, not yet, they’re blind and deaf to it.

Victor might be blind to it, but he is not blind to other important things. Like, for example, the fact that Yuuri is beginning to fly and Yuuri himself has not even realised.

It happens some mornings after their talk. Victor is looking for a tool and realises it’s on the other side of the room, so he asks Yuuri if he can pass it to him. Yuuri is Yuuri and before Victor has finished asking him he is standing and heading to the shelves the tool box is in.

Said tool box is on one of the highest shelves and Yuuri just slightly beats his wings to impulse himself up the bare minimum, just to pick the box. And then he turns around and passes the box to Victor, who is left agape.

“What?” he asks.

“Oh,” Victor realises. So he didn’t realise he flew. Well, he’s not telling him, Victor wants Yuuri to find out himself. “Your beauty blinded me.”

That has the wished effect and Yuuri blushes from the tip of the ears to the chin and sits again, avoiding Victor’s look for five whole minutes.

So that’s how Yuuri’s mind works. One day he’s afraid of even confessing he’s terrified of flying and as soon as someone faithfully believes in him his brain does all the work and unconsciously puts his wings to move.

And it doesn’t stop there, though it’s really subtle. When Yuuri goes up or down the stairs he impulses himself the slightest and gently floats and skips a couple steps. And, again, every time he needs to reach something that is too high he does the same.

And he still doesn’t realise.

Sometimes Victor believes he is suffering from vertigo, for every time he looks at Yuuri he feels as if he is standing on a tightrope and needs to keep his balance to avoid falling. And, still, he is somehow comfortable and once he learns how to keep himself straight he doesn’t even want to come down.

He wonders if a flying creature like Yuuri can also suffer from vertigo as well. He never asks, though.

 

And while Yuuri begins to fly, the tension in Hasetsu regarding the wild animal issue rises. Yuuri doesn’t mention the matter anymore, but sometimes Victor would hear Hiroko and Toshiya talking about it or Mari telling Yuuri the news: More than a week has gone by and not a single citizen of Hasetsu has been able to see it, much less catch it.

Victor is left out of the problem, but he feels how the worry starts taking over every member of the Katsuki family. Was it a bear? A wolf? No one wanted to know.

That only resulted in a couple more midnight escapes to the valley, which turned out completely unsuccessful cause once out they realised people in the village were more alert than ever and had to turn around to avoid greater consequences.

Time passes slowly those days, between lazy kisses in the mornings, waking up in each other’s bed, hours in the repair room and confessions in the darkness.

And as soon as everything started, it ends.

 

It catches them unprepared —as if they could have ever been—. They could have easily foreseen it if they had paid closer attention, but they were too busy trying to stop the clock from ticking faster.

Frightened neighbours, escalating tension, fear of the unknown. The right ingredients for the wrong measures.

The first sign comes in the form of the silence that precedes a storm. Even Victor, shut in the onsen, can tell. The waxing moon is out, the constant chatter of the bath house guests dies up, the streets are empty and the only sound that can be heard is the cicadas singing.

The peace is followed by the rushed opening of the onsen entrance door and frantic steps go up the stairs.

From the repair room they both can hear how their bedroom’s doors are opened, first Yuuri’s, followed by Victor’s, and lastly the repair room. Yuuri tries to push Victor under the table in a panicked reflex but the door opens before he can manage and they are both faced with the upcoming person.

Phichit.

Their heartbeats come to a normal pace again when they see no risk in Phichit being there, but suddenly come again to a halt when the boy speaks.

“You need to leave. Now.” Phichit is paler than usual and his voice is almost hoarse, as if he came all the way to the onsen running. He probably did.

“What?” Yuuri intervenes when he realises Phichit is pointing at Victor. “No. Why would he…?” He looks at Victor in concern, just to look at his friend right after.

Victor is frozen in place, unable to speak nor move. His worst nightmare is coming true.

“There’s no wild animal. There’s no animal at all.” Phichit is almost choking when he speaks, but he can’t stop, eyes reflecting anguish. “People are suspecting it’s a human, they are pretty sure, some people even say they saw one.”

“What?” That’s all that Yuuri can say apparently.

“I know it doesn’t make sense! But they also found what seems to be the same footprints in some of the places that were robbed. Since the things that are disappearing are animals and food, and not from a single house but from the whole village, they believe it’s an outsider. And the human theory fits.” Phichit slowly takes a deep breath and leans on the wall.

“Bu-But I don’t need to steal anything. I-I did nothing of that sort!” Victor’s voice comes out more panicked that he intended, and both Yuuri and Phichit realise.

“I know,” Phichit mutters. “I know, but people are afraid, this has happened before.” And his gaze is lost to the ceiling before he speaks again. “You haven’t even left the onsen, they have no reason to believe the thief is a human, though, they haven’t seen you.”

But Yuuri and Victor’s guilty expressions give them away.

“You went out?!” Phichit shouts. “Anyone could have actually seen you! Yuuri!” He turns to his best friend. “What were you thinking?”

“We were really careful, it was at the early hours of the morning and no one was out, and…” Yuuri babbles and ends up trailing off.

“Someone might have seen him! They’re beginning to search some houses in case the thief sneaked into one and no one realised!”

The metaphorical walls of everything Victor has built in those almost three months in Hasetsu begin to crumble and he feels how everything comes to a sudden stop.

“And you don’t really want to be here when that happens,” it’s all that Phichit adds. “You might be harmless, but they don’t know that.”

Victor can’t breathe. If he knows something is that he wants to be with Yuuri. If he’s discovered, though, the slightest possibility of being with him is reduced to ashes. And not only that, Yuuri and his family will be guilty of hiding a human for months in their house.

That’s not what he wants. And while Yuuri is still shocked and not reacting at all, Victor takes a decision.

“I need to leave before anyone sees me.” He tries to coat his voice with assurance and courage, but all he feels is fear leaking in every syllable. Yuuri instantly turns around to look at him.

“You haven’t even finished fixing your balloon! How are you gonna leave, Victor, no. I… You-Your appearance is obvious, you just can’t walk out of town and…” There are tears gathering in his eyes and Victor feels that his eyes look exactly the same.

“Yes I have.” Yuuri shuts up. “I have finished fixing the balloon. I didn’t tell you cause… I didn’t tell you.” He doesn’t need to finish the sentence, Yuuri perfectly gets it.

“But that doesn’t matter now. If I stay here and they find me, not only will they take me away, but your family will be looked down on for hiding me. Yuuri, I need to leave.” Some sense comes into Yuuri again and after some seconds of doubting and staring into Victor’s eyes he speaks again.

“Fine. But I’m going with you.”

“Yuuri…”

“You’re not leaving for forever. You can’t leave right now in the balloon even though it’s already fixed. If they are patrolling the village, a huge flying thing won’t go unnoticed and they can easily knock it down.”

“It’d also take some hours to completely inflate it… Then we leave and come back once everything has calmed down?” Yuuri worries his lower lip, but finally nods.

“I believe it’ll be enough with a few days… Makkachin can stay here, it will be safer. And when we’re back you can pick her and the balloon. So you’re leaving now, but I’m going with you.” The certainty in Yuuri’s eyes is so powerful that Victor ends up agreeing.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri gets Victor the most discrete clothes he can find, packs up the basic stuff they need to survive in the valley for a few days —which is not much, since Yuuri knows how to live off the valley without many resources— and before they realise they are saying goodbye and silently leaving the house. The moon leads the way.

The streets are barely lit and silent as they walk through them. Their steps are frantic but cautious at the same time, and despite it’s not that late in the night there’s not a single person outside. That only makes their advance easy through the narrowest streets.

Yuuri gets a grasp of Victor’s hand and doesn’t let go of it while they keep walking. The closest way out of Hasetsu is less than ten minutes away and hope turns into something almost achievable.

At least it is until they hear some voices when they’re about to turn a corner. The small street is partially lit by the light that comes out of an open door.

“Don’t worry,” the voice of a woman says, “we’ll catch the human before they can do any harm.”

“What if you don’t?” A child asks.

“We will. You can go to bed darling, you’re safe here. I’ll be back before you can count to ten.”

“I don’t want to sleep.”

“Honey, it will be fine. I swear.” The voices die down. The door closes and the light fades. Victor looks at Yuuri and can’t even begin to imagine what damage previous humans had caused to provoke this fear in Hasetsu.

He doesn’t blame this people for fearing him. He just wished they understood him without judging him first.

Once they check the street is clear they begin to walk again towards the exit.

“Yuuri,” Victor whispers. Yuuri turns to look at him but Victor ends up shaking his head and muttering a soft _later_.

But the previous silence indeed preceded the storm. They haven’t got the chance to move forward even ten meters when new voices reach their ears. Close, closer than they would like. The suddenness of it freezes them in place for some seconds, and it’s not until Yuuri sees three shadows turning the corner that he reacts. He needs to give Victor some time.

“Hide!” He murmurs while he pushes Victor towards a side street close to where they are both standing. “If you follow this street you will find an alley that nobody passes by.”

“Who’s there?” One of the voices asks and the steps become rushed.

“And you?” Victor says, not wanting to leave.

“I’ll distract them! Now run!” He whispers, but to Victor it sounds like a shout.

The last thing Victor sees before turning around are Yuuri’s wings. He runs.

 

Yuuri is so nervous and shaky while he waits to be spotted that he is worried it will be obvious that he’s lying even before he speaks. He sees two men and a woman that he has met a couple times in the onsen.

“Yuuri?” The woman asks. Of course they know him.

“Hi,” he awkwardly smiles while he rubs his neck. He feels like he is going to start crying at any moment, but he can’t give up that easily. He needs to be brave for Victor.

“Didn’t you hear about the news? There’s probably a human in the village, we’re looking for them and we told everybody who didn’t want to help to stay home. We don’t know their intentions and we don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

“I-I wanted to help!” He almost shouts. “I mean…” He takes a deep breath. “I want to help you. I was looking for you cause I saw the human!”

That’s what Yuuri has planned in those brief seconds before being discovered. He’ll tell them he saw the human in the opposite direction so he can find Victor again and go to the exit without any more inconveniences.

“Did they attack you? Which way did they go?” The woman is asking again, checking Yuuri for any hurt.

“I’m fine, I’m… He went that way,” he says, pointing at the opposite direction that Victor followed.

“Thanks Yuuri,” they all say. “Would you like to join us?” One of the men asks, but Yuuri doesn’t have the time to answer before a distant shout interrupts him.

“We found him! The human, we found him! It’s here!”

The world stops turning around. Yuuri can’t hear anything else, can’t see anything else. But he can tell he is running for things are moving fast next to him. He has no control over himself, though. He’s on autopilot as he approaches the place where everybody is heading for. Where Victor probably is.

He arrives to Hasetsu main square to see a crowd surrounding something. Someone. The human.

“No, no. No please,” Yuuri keeps whispering while he gets closer to them, elbowing anyone that is on his way. More and more people are gathering, all of them with fear in their eyes. He can’t barely breathe.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you want from us?”

“Why did you steal from us?”

His neighbours question him relentlessly but not a single answer comes out the human’s mouth.

“Stop it!” Yuuri screams with tears in his eyes. “He’s afraid, he’s done no wrong!” But no one listens to him. Reaching the centre of the crowd is becoming more and more difficult as his anxiety consumes him. He can’t even see Victor, he can only envision him laying on the ground, afraid, accused of something he could never be guilty of.

His heart is going to explode, he needs to get to Victor and protect him, but he doesn’t know how. He can’t move, he can’t breathe, he can’t even… He closes his eyes as he feels his legs start to give up.

But instead of hitting the cold pavement with his knees he gets a completely different sensation. He feels light, almost weightless. He already knows that feeling, but he can’t put a name to it. He instantly understands what it is when he opens his eyes.

He’s flying. Not high, not for a long time, but enough to reach the place where Victor is. It’s sudden and fast, he doesn’t have the time nor the strength to process the fact, so once he’s landed he steps ahead with all the courage he has and pushes aside the few people that were questioning Victor.

There’s only a problem. It’s not Victor.

The human. It’s not Victor.

It’s a human, but it’s definitely not Victor. He is older, almost bald and shorter in height. His eyes are dark and a fresh scar crosses his left cheek. He is laying on the ground and looking at Yuuri with fear, the exact same fear everybody around them is looking at the human with. No one else dares to approach him.

Suddenly, everything clicks in Yuuri’s mind.

“Were you-Were you the one stealing from us?” He carefully asks. The human nods, unsure. “You’ve been hiding here for two weeks, the footprints... The footprints were yours.” And the human nods again. Everyone in the village was right about the thief being a human, but it was not the one Yuuri initially thought of.

He turns to look around, still in shock. Everybody is looking at him, without exception, but he makes the mistake not to look at anybody.

It’s fast.

The human takes advantage of the temporary distraction to raise up to his feet. His shaky hands are looking for something on his back, and Yuuri just turns to look at him to find an object he had only seen in one of Victor’s notebooks of designs.

A gun, Yuuri slowly notices. A gun pointing at the closest person to the human. That is to say, Yuuri himself.

He sees how the human moves his fingers to pull the trigger, how he’s just in the way of the bullet, which will go directly into his chest. Yuuri had dreamt many times of his own dead, always though he would fall again somehow, but he never thought this would be his end.

The night is darker than ever and the worn-out pavement does not definitely make the perfect bed for his early ending. He doesn’t have the time to close his eyes.

_Bang._

But it’s not the bullet what hits him. It’s a body. Yuuri falls harshly to the ground, eyes closed now and the weight of a person on top of him. His head never hits the ground, though, there’s a hand cupping it. He is overwhelmed, but warm fingers caress his face and a velvet-like voice talks to him.

“Yuuri?” Yuuri blinks his eyes open only to find a pair of eyes bluer than the sea looking at him in concern. “Are you fine?”

Tears flood Yuuri’s eyes at the sight in front of him. He doesn’t answer Victor, he doesn’t exactly know how he is, but he reaches out and hugs him as he begins to sob.

“I was so worried about you, I thought you were…”

“Shhh,” Victor coos. “It’s fine now. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Yuuri doesn’t let go off Victor and lets himself be cradled in his arms. But he suddenly remembers where they are when strong hands get a hold of Victor and distance him from Yuuri.

“No!” He shouts. “He’s done nothing wrong.” He finds the courage to stand and face those surrounding him, but he’s received by crimson instead. His own hands and shirt are stained by crimson red. Blood.

“He feels his body with his bloody hands and frowns, nothing hurts. When he looks up again, at Victor, there’s blood, even more if possible. He’s pale and holds a painful expression. There’s a hole in his shirt.

“Let him go!” He roars to the man holding Victor. “Let go! He’s hurt! He-He can do no harm, he just…” He points at the other human with fury, who is now hold by two men. “He was the guilty one. Please…” His tone suddenly dies down and he’s now begging. “Let me save him, just like he saved me.”

No one dares to move a finger against Yuuri when he releases Victor from the hold of his temporary guardian. Not even when it’s Victor the one that steps ahead to meet Yuuri where he is, even though he is quickly running out of strength.

“You can rest now,” Yuuri whispers into Victor’s ear as soon as he makes sure his hold on him is strong enough. Victor nods and lets his head rest on the crook of Yuuri’s neck, just like Yuuri would do that same morning.

“Yuuri,” he whispers. Yuuri’s only answer is a hum. “Take me home?”

He takes a few seconds to respond as he fights back a sob.

“Don’t need to say it twice,” he mutters.

Every person around them is frozen in place, agape as Victor and Yuuri leave in silence, just as if time had stopped and was favouring only them. At last.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ow-Ow. Just...”

“You’ve been really lucky that the bullet didn’t go in deep!” Hiroko is scolding Victor while she cleans up his wound. Makkachin is sat in Victor’s lap and licks his hands from time to time, even lets out a soft cry when Victor hisses in pain.

The bullet went directly into Victor’s left shoulder. He has lost a good amount of blood, but it didn’t get deep enough to cause him serious damage. He’s pale and tired, but he is alive at least.

That night all the guests at the onsen were neighbours from Hasetsu, and Hiroko and Toshiya politely asked them to leave until the situation was sorted out. They were all by their own in the onsen.

“What’s going to happen to happen now?” Victor dares to ask.  Yuuri is sat on the opposite corner of the living room, looking at the scene from the distance in silence.

“We can’t really tell,” Hiroko intervenes. “It’s only been a couple hours and they’ve been quite silent.” She starts bandaging the wound and Victor groans in pain. “But they won’t ignore the fact that you’re hidden here.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience…” Victor starts, but Hiroko shuts him up with a hand on his shoulder.

“When we agreed to keep you hidden we knew the consequences.” She finishes bandaging Victor without speaking a word.

“I-I should leave before it’s too late,” Victor whispers as soon as he puts on a clean shirt again. He tries to stand up with Yuuri’s eyes fixed on him.

It’s Toshiya the one who stops him now.

“You should rest for a while. We’ll help you escape, otherwise you won’t be able to get out of here without anyone noticing if you go alone.”

Victor bites his lower lip and looks directly at Yuuri, who is still wearing the bloody clothes and has a look of horror in his face.

“Fine,” Victor mutters, still not taking his eyes of Yuuri.

 

“Yuuri?” Victor asks as soon as Toshiya and Hiroko have left and it’s only the two of them and Makkachin in the room.

And Yuuri gets to his feet and carefully approaches Victor, next to whom he sits.

“I’m fine now,” Victor mutters while he holds the other’s hand. “Look at me, I’m fine.”

When Yuuri looks up his eyes are red and puffy, and it takes his will not to cry again.

“I thought you were going to die,” he murmurs.

“But I’m alive.”

Yuuri worries his lip.

“I know.”

Yuuri lets out a long and tired sigh as Victor holds him against him. It’s soothing despite its sourness.

“You should rest while I watch you,” he mouths against his chest. Victor remains quiet and still, and when Yuuri raises his gaze he finds those blue eyes staring adoringly at him, while a few inches below there’s the saddest smile he’s ever seen. His heart breaks all over again.

“I don’t know if I want to sleep,” Victor says, but the dark circles under his eyes tell otherwise. “If this is our last night together I want to share it with you.”

It’s the first time that their worries are worded, and Yuuri knows their silent deal was made to be broken but, oh, how it hurts. He bites back tears again.

Victor paid a price. He traded his own freedom for saving Yuuri’s life and its effects were immediate. And, despite all, Yuuri contemplates a different option.

“I could run away with you.”

A heavy silence falls like a curtain.

“Yuuri… Your life is here, everything you love is here. You just can’t throw away everything you own to come with me to who knows where!”

“Ma-Maybe we can find a place where we are both accepted as we are! I already know how it feels like losing you, I can’t. I can’t do that again.” His hands are wrinkling Victor’s shirt from holding onto it too strong. Victor gently grabs them both and holds them between his own while he makes slow circles with his thumbs in Yuuri’s palms.

“I-I don’t want to be your ruin Yuuri.”

“That,” Yuuri emphasises, “that would be a choice of mine, not of yours. If I want to leave, I leave. If I want to stay, I stay.” There’s a fire in his eyes that Victor has never seen. It doesn’t burn, though, it only warms his tired body.

“Just… Don’t rush into it, please. Think about it, it’s…”

“Victor,” Yuuri interrupts him. “I won’t change my mind. If I had to choose, I would choose you.”

Victor’s eyes are flooded with tears that run down his cheeks, their path leaving a trail. Tears that, for once, come directly from joy.

“I guess you could use some rest then?” Yuuri asks while he dries Victor’s cheeks and leaves a kiss in his nose.

Victor only manages a nod while he lets himself be lulled to sleep in Yuuri’s arms. Tomorrow is waiting for them.

 

* * *

 

 

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Three raps at a door.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

The sun has not risen up yet, so it’s not been too long since Victor fell asleep. Yuuri raises his head to look at the living room door. That’s not where the knocks come from.

_Knock. Knock._

The third rap never arrives, for someone opens the door. It’s the main door to the entrance. Yuuri gulps.

“What are you doing here?” Hiroko asks to whoever is at their lobby. Her tone is deathly serious and, still, Yuuri can’t find worry in her voice.

“Hiroko…” A man says. Yuuri recognises the voice, the man was at the main square when Victor was shot. “I’d like to talk to your son and the human.”

 _He’s coming for Victor_ , that’s Yuuri’s first thought. He turns around and finds Victor is already awake and listening to the conversation with a frown in his brow.

Hiroko doesn’t answer.

“I’m not going to make him a prisoner Hiroko,” the man insists. “I know we haven’t always agreed, but if my intentions were arresting him I would let you know.”

Hiroko tells him something, but Yuuri cannot hear it and the next thing he knows it’s that Hiroko’s steps are heading for the living room they’re in. She opens the sliding door, enters the room and closes it once she’s in. She seems surprised to find both of them staring at her in confusion.

 

Five minutes later, Hiroko is standing in front of the open door and Yuuri and Victor are sat in the living room in front of a man with huge grey wings that match the colour of his hair. His eyes are sky blue and cold. It gives them shivers. They wait for him to speak.

“I’ll be concise,” he starts. “We have been discussing the situation and deciding what to do with you.” He points at Victor. “We’re not especially glad that, not only one, but two humans, have been hiding in the village without anyone noticing.” He looks at Hiroko with an almost accusative look.

“I know,” Yuuri mutters, “but had I told you, you would have done what? Imprison him? Throw him out without any resources?” He can taste the bitterness of his words, but he is tired and doesn’t care anymore. “You don’t even try to understand him.”

Hiroko looks at Yuuri with reproachful eyes, but Yuuri avoids her gaze. Victor is agape.

“I’m not done young man,” the winged man says when Yuuri is about to put the blame on him again. “He’s dangerous until proved otherwise, but, despite everything, everyone saw what happened yesterday. If the human hadn’t saved you, you would probably be dead by now. You,” he turns to look at Victor now, “you risked your life for him against one of your own kind and that is a fact that can’t be ignored.”

“What-What does that mean?” Victor dares to ask for the first time. The rest of them remain silent, waiting for the answer.

“That means that, although it’s not a unanimous decision and many people are strongly against it, we will not take action against you in gratitude for your acts. You can heal from your wound and then leave. We won’t stop you, we won’t look for you as long as you keep us a secret.”

The man looks at them, waiting for a reaction, but none comes.

“How can we trust your words?” Yuuri asks this time, almost afraid. “That sounds too good to be true.”

“We’re not blind. Human presence won’t ever be pleasant in Hasetsu. We might not like humans, but punishing one who actually helped us only brings us closer to them. That’s what some of us think, at least.”

The winged man’s gaze is intense and fixed on both of them, still waiting for an answer. Victor’s eyes, nevertheless, are fixed on Yuuri.

“What’s wrong?” The winged man asks. Yuuri, on the other hand, can only look at his mother.

“I’m going with him,” he finally says. “I’m leaving with Victor.”

The winged man furrows his brow and the beginning of an ironic laugh starts in his throat, but he is cut up by Hiroko.

“I know,” she whispers softly with the warmest smile in her lips and tears in her eyes. “I know, Yuuri. It’s fine, you’re fine. You need to stop worrying about us, my love.”

A single tear runs down her cheek, but she keeps her smile shining and warm. And, still, there’s happiness to it.

“Okaa-san…” Yuuri murmurs and is about to say something else, but Hiroko shakes her head and the conversation is over. The winged man clears his voice before speaking.

“Do whatever you want, boy,” he says now. “You’re free to leave. So is the human. Hiroko… Give my best regards to the rest of your family, and please, keep me informed.” Hiroko nods.

“Thank you,” Victor says.

And as the man arrived, he silently leaves.

The clock strikes five in the morning and the break of day catches them sitting at the living room, still with disbelief expressions on their faces, afraid that everything had been a dream and they could wake up from it if they spoke.

But Victor is tired of dreaming.

“If I had known that getting shot was all it would take to be pardoned, I would have done it before.” A bubble of nervous laugh surges up his throat and it’s only Yuuri’s hand on his shoulder what grounds him again.

“It’s over,” he says. “You’re free, you can leave.”

“We all can.”

 

There’s a village, a hidden village nestled between hills where fear has left a permanent mark.

There’s also a lesson everybody in that village has learnt: if the sky and the earth want to meet, not even fear will be able to stop them.

And so it has been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it!! This chapter has caused me a lot of troubles and I even changed some parts in the last minute, but I'm happy with it (and with the whole fic) cause it's the first time in years that I write more that 3k words (at least in creative writing and in English!!!). It's also the first story that I completely finish, it has turned into something really special to me, this tiny monster.
> 
> Thank you so so so much to all of you who read, kudoed, commented, subscribed, bookmarked... It means a lot to me I'm really thankful and happy that someone would read something I wrote! <3 I also had to leave out some scenes I wrote but didn't really contribute to the main plot, so maybe if I have the time and the energy I might upload those into a compilation of short scenes that didn't get to be here!
> 
> Last thing, I'm weak for ost and I try to add music to everything I do... I created a playlist on spotify but it was half in spanish *nervous laugh* (if someone is interested it's [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/anabp4/playlist/4jkrAS9dAc0vru8eDgkb3u?si=_iZkzIOQS0-6Xo_x4cTBlQ)! If not, I'd say you can listen to [Icarus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTQsvkHei_8) and [Winter Trees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvtT8i8rOJY) by The Staves. They're great, I love those songs and they make me think of this a lot!)
> 
> If this fic reminds you of any song, please, tell me here in the comments or on [tumblr](http://owlishann.tumblr.com) cause I would LOVE to know what kind of music this story transports you to :')


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